Brittanee Drexel: Spring Break murder at Myrtle Beach
Spring Break MurdersSpring Break Murders reveals the untold stories lurking beneath the sun-soaked surface of the most popular holiday destinations. The series starts Tuesday, 15th April on Crime+Investigation.
After an argument with her mother over spring break plans, Brittanee Drexel said she was going to stay with friends. Little did anyone know the 17-year-old would end up far from home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina — and her family would never see her again.
What happened to Brittanee, and why did it take police over a decade to crack the case? That’s what our team at Crime+Investigation has been keen to uncover. Keep reading to find out more.
Who was Brittanee Drexel?
Brittanee was just like any other 17-year-old. She had a vibrant social life with plenty of friends and a boyfriend who was attentive and affectionate. Her home life was loving, too. Although her biological father wasn't present, her adoptive father, Chad Drexel, and mother, Dawn Drexel, always wanted the best for her.
The trio lived happily in Chili, a town in Monroe County, New York. However, despite her proximity to Lake Ontario, with its pretty beaches and wild swimming spots, Brittanee suffered from wanderlust. In April 2009, she asked her mother if she could visit Myrtle Beach in South Carolina over spring break with some friends.
Dawn refused. She didn't know the friends in question and there were no adults to supervise the trip. After several days of arguing, Brittanee suggested she stay with some friends to cool down. Her mother agreed, not knowing her worst fears would soon be realised.
A secret spring break trip
That day, Brittanee and her friends secretly embarked on the 800-mile trip to Myrtle Beach, even checking in with her mother on the way. Dawn had no reason to suspect her daughter was lying — she had given her no reason to do so in the past. On top of this, Brittanee was in constant communication with her boyfriend, John Grieco.
On 25th April 2009, three days after she arrived in South Carolina, Brittanee left one group of friends at the Bar Harbor Hotel to meet another at the Blue Water Resort. After a few hours of socialising, she texted John around 9pm to let him know she was heading back.
Then, the messages abruptly stopped. Panicked, John contacted Brittanee's friends in Myrtle Beach, but nobody had seen her. Hitting dead end after dead end, he eventually called Dawn, who immediately raised the alarm with the police.
No concrete leads
What happened to Brittanee after she left the Blue Water Resort? Security cameras captured her leaving just before 9pm, dressed in a tank top, flip-flops and shorts. She clearly hadn't planned on staying out all night.
After analysing footage and speaking to friends, police identified the last known person to have seen the teen — Peter Brozowitz, a 20-year-old nightclub promoter. Although questioned, he was never a person of interest.
The only solid piece of evidence they had was Brittanee's phone pings. The electronic trail travelled 60 miles south of Myrtle Beach along Route 17 before stopping completely. Police spent almost two weeks searching this area for clues without success.
Mistaken identity
Seven years later, the FBI appealed for new information, stating they believed that Brittanee had been abducted, murdered and her body disposed of somewhere near Georgetown, where the phone pings ended.
This coincided with a strange interaction between two inmates in state prison, Timothy Da'Shaun Taylor and Taquan Brown. For whatever reason, Brown told police that he had seen Taylor sexually assaulting Brittanee before hearing two gunshots. Understandably, police took this seriously despite Taylor vehemently professing his innocence.
Truth always prevails
As it turns out, Taylor didn't kill Brittanee. The missing persons case was finally solved in May 2022, when a man called Raymond Moody turned himself in to the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office. Frustratingly, the registered sex offender was originally a person of interest all those years ago, but police didn't have enough evidence to pursue a prosecution.
Whether he felt genuine remorse or the walls closing in on him, he confessed to the crime and eventually implicated his then-girlfriend, Angel Cooper Vause. In his own words, the two had 'gone hunting' for a victim that night — Brittanee was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
After offering her a ride home, the deadly duo kidnapped her, raped her and ultimately murdered her using a nylon rope and ice pick. Moody provided the location of Brittanee’s remains — a small patch of woods just outside Georgetown.
On 19th October 2022, Moody was arrested and charged with murder, kidnapping and first-degree criminal sexual misconduct. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison. Several years later, on 13th February 2025, Vause was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
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